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Glowforge Plus vs Glowforge Basic — Which Should You Buy?

Side-by-side specs, settings, and decision guide. Both have community-tested settings for 43 shared materials.

Glowforge Plus vs Glowforge Basic: $3,995 — prices as of 2026, check retailer for current pricing.

Which one should you buy?

These two machines are very closely matched on power, work area, and software. Pick whichever has the better current price or stronger community support.

Where to buy

Glowforge Plus — check current price & availability

See price on Amazon →

Affiliate link — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Where to buy

Glowforge Basic — check current price & availability

See price on Amazon →

Affiliate link — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Glowforge Plus

Power
45W
Laser Type
co2
Buy Glowforge Plus →

Glowforge Basic

Price
$3,995
Power
45W
Laser Type
co2
Software
Glowforge App
Buy Glowforge Basic →
78 settings for Glowforge Plus142 settings for Glowforge Basic

Settings Comparison

Material · OperationGlowforge PlusGlowforge Basic
2mm Basswood Plywoodcut—25 mm/s · 35% · air assist
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut150 mm/min · 100% · air assist20 mm/s · 100% · air assist
3mm Basswood Plywoodcut150 mm/min · 100%300 glowforge_units · 100%
3mm Black Acryliccut—20 mm/s · 60–70% · air assist
3mm Clear Acryliccut250 mm/min · 100%500 glowforge_units · 100%
3mm MDFcut133 mm/min · 100%28 mm/s · 65–75% · air assist
3mm Tinted Acryliccut—18 mm/s · 60% · air assist
3mm Walnut Plywoodcut22 mm/s · 65%18 mm/s · 100% · air assist
5mm Plywoodcut—9 mm/s · 60% · 2× passes · air assist
6mm Baltic Birch Plywoodcut84 mm/min · 100%—
6mm Clear Acryliccut—6 mm/s · 72% · 2× passes · air assist
6mm MDFcut14 mm/s · 80%10 mm/s · 100% · air assist
9mm Birch Plywoodcut—3 mm/s · 78% · 3× passes · air assist
Acrylic Feltcut65 mm/s · 22%55 mm/s · 28%
Alder 3mmcut—20 mm/s · 55%
Bamboo 3mmcut22 mm/s · 62% · air assist20 mm/s · 55%
Bamboo Cutting Boardcut300 mm/min · 95–100% · 2× passes · air assist—
Bamboocut130 mm/min · 100% · air assist120 mm/min · 100% · air assist
Basswoodcut300 mm/min · 40–45% · 2× passes · air assist25 mm/s · 55–70% · air assist
Cardboard (corrugated, ~3–4mm)cut—85 mm/s · 42%
Cardboardcut500 mm/min · 35%180 mm/s · 35%
Cardstock 300gsmcut100 mm/s · 14%70 mm/s · 12%
Cardstock (80–110 lb / ~220–300 gsm)cut—110 mm/s · 18%
Cardstockcut600 mm/min · 25%250 mm/s · 15%
Cedar 3mmcut—20 mm/s · 54%
Cherry 3mmcut—16 mm/s · 62%
Chipboard 2mmcut34 mm/s · 48% · air assist28 mm/s · 30%
Copy Paper 80gsmcut120 mm/s · 10%100 mm/s · 12%
Cork 3mmcut34 mm/s · 28% · air assist28 mm/s · 35% · air assist
Cork Sheet 3mmcut—22 mm/s · 40% · air assist
Corkcut230 mm/min · 55%800 mm/min · 70–85% · 2× passes
Corrugated Cardboardcut42 mm/s · 36%35 mm/s · 45%
Cotton Fabriccut18 mm/s · 40–45% · air assist45 mm/s · 20%
Craft Felt 3mmcut—40 mm/s · 18%
Denim Fabriccut19 mm/s · 40–45% · air assist40 mm/s · 25%
EVA Foam 3mmcut—35 mm/s · 22%
EVA Foam 6mmcut55 mm/s · 26%45 mm/s · 32%
Faux Leathercut42 mm/s · 38% · air assist35 mm/s · 45% · air assist
Foam Board 5mmcut50 mm/s · 28%42 mm/s · 35%
Foamcut—55 mm/s · 14%
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)cut32 mm/s · 42–50% · air assist28 mm/s · 45–55% · air assist
Genuine Leathercut300 mm/min · 80–85% · 2× passes · air assist8 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist
HTV Vinylcut105 mm/s · 9%90 mm/s · 12%
Kraft Papercut280 mm/s · 12%280 mm/s · 12%
Leathercut200 mm/min · 65% · air assist9 mm/s · 80–85% · air assist
Maplecut15 mm/s · 60–70%12 mm/s · 65–75%
Mylar Stencil 7.5milcut80 mm/s · 14%68 mm/s · 18%
Oak 3mmcut—14 mm/s · 70%
Papercut—300 mm/s · 10%
Pine 3mmcut—18 mm/s · 60%
Plywoodcut130 mm/min · 100% · 2× passes · air assist22 mm/s · 60–70% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Blankcut13 mm/s · 50–55% · air assist11 mm/s · 60–65% · air assist
Rubber Stamp Materialcut12 mm/s · 75%—
Walnutcut15 mm/s · 60–70%12 mm/s · 65–75%
Washi Tapecut—160 mm/s · 7%
2mm Basswood Plywoodengrave—380 mm/s · 11%
3mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave—300 mm/s · 25–30%
3mm Basswood Plywoodengrave500 mm/min · 75%1000 glowforge_units · 75%
3mm Black Acrylicengrave—350 mm/s · 18–25%
3mm Clear Acrylic (Cast)engrave440 mm/min440 mm/min
3mm Clear Acrylicengrave2000 mm/min · 40–45%1000 glowforge_units · 40%
3mm Maple Plywoodengrave400 mm/min400 mm/min
3mm MDFengrave2000 mm/min · 40–45%450 mm/s · 20–28%
3mm Mirrored Acrylicengrave420 mm/min420 mm/min
3mm Tinted Acrylicengrave—140 mm/s · 20%
3mm Walnut Plywoodengrave380 mm/s · 16%250 mm/s · 25–30%
5mm Plywoodengrave—140 mm/s · 20%
6mm Baltic Birch Plywoodengrave2000 mm/min · 40–45%—
6mm Clear Acrylicengrave—120 mm/s · 22%
6mm MDFengrave—150 mm/s · 25–30%
9mm Birch Plywoodengrave—100 mm/s · 24%
Acrylic Feltengrave500 mm/s · 5–8%500 mm/s · 5–10%
Anodized Aluminumengrave500 mm/min · 100%300 mm/s · 40%
Bamboo 3mmengrave350 mm/s · 15–20%290 mm/s · 18%
Bamboo Cutting Boardengrave375 mm/min · 65%—
Bambooengrave—350 mm/s · 30%
Basswoodengrave1000 mm/min · 25% · air assist400 mm/s · 22–30%
Cardboardengrave—500 mm/s · 5–10%
Cardstock 300gsmengrave500 mm/s · 5–8%500 mm/s · 5–8%
Cardstockengrave—400 mm/s · 8%
Ceramic Tileengrave250 mm/s · 55%180 mm/s · 65%
Cherry 3mmengrave—270 mm/s · 22%
Chipboard 2mmengrave500 mm/s · 10–15%400 mm/s · 15–20%
Coated / Powder Coated Steelengrave—300 mm/min · 48%
Copy Paper 80gsmengrave500 mm/s · 5–8%500 mm/s · 5–8%
Cork 3mmengrave500 mm/s · 5–10%400 mm/s · 5–10%
Cork Sheet 3mmengrave—280 mm/s · 14%
Corkengrave—4000 mm/min · 35–45%
Corrugated Cardboardengrave500 mm/s · 5–10%500 mm/s · 10–15%
Cotton Fabricengrave330 mm/s · 13%280 mm/s · 16%
Denim Fabricengrave350 mm/s · 14%300 mm/s · 18%
EVA Foam 6mmengrave500 mm/s · 5–10%500 mm/s · 5–10%
Faux Leatherengrave500 mm/s · 5–10%500 mm/s · 10–15%
Foam Board 5mmengrave500 mm/s · 5–10%500 mm/s · 5–10%
Genuine Leather (Veg-Tan, ~3mm)engrave320 mm/s · 12–18% · air assist300 mm/s · 14–20% · air assist
Genuine Leatherengrave400 mm/min · 55%150 mm/s · 22%
Glassengrave380 mm/s · 8–12%220 mm/s · 22%
HTV Vinylengrave500 mm/s · 5–8%500 mm/s · 5–8%
Kraft Paperengrave500 mm/s · 8%500 mm/s · 5–8%
Leatherengrave2000 mm/min · 25–30%170 mm/s · 30% · air assist
Mapleengrave270 mm/s · 18–23%250 mm/s · 20–25%
Marble Tileengrave95 mm/s · 48%210 mm/s · 35%
Mylar Stencil 7.5milengrave500 mm/s · 5–8%500 mm/s · 5–8%
Oak 3mmengrave—260 mm/s · 22%
Paperengrave—500 mm/s · 5–8%
Photopolymer Stamp Blankengrave—120 mm/s · 45%
Pine 3mmengrave—270 mm/s · 20%
Plywoodengrave—450 mm/s · 22–30%
Powder Coated Steelengrave—300 mm/min · 48%
Rubber Stamp Blankengrave240 mm/s · 18%200 mm/s · 22%
Rubber Stamp Materialengrave200 mm/s · 25%—
Slate (coaster)engrave380 mm/s · 13–18%150 mm/s · 27–32%
Slateengrave500 mm/min · 80%130 mm/s · 80%
Spray Painted Metalengrave—350 mm/min · 45%
Stainless Steelengrave240 mm/s · 58%200 mm/s · 65%
Walnutengrave270 mm/s · 18–23%250 mm/s · 20–25%
Stainless Steelmark—170 mm/s · 75%
All Glowforge Plus settings →All Glowforge Basic settings →

Shopping for a Glowforge Plus? Check the current price.

See price on Amazon →

Shopping for a Glowforge Basic? Check the current price.

See price on Amazon →

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, the Glowforge Plus or Glowforge Basic?

It depends on your use case. Glowforge Plus is 45W co2. Glowforge Basic is 45W co2. See the decision guide and side-by-side specs above.

What materials can both the Glowforge Plus and Glowforge Basic cut or engrave?

Both machines have community-tested settings for 43 shared materials. The settings table above lists every material with side-by-side speed, power, passes, and air assist values for direct comparison.

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Settings are community-contributed and may not reflect your exact machine configuration or material batch. Always test on scrap first. Some links are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

What Makers Say

★★★★★5.0· 6 reviews
View all on Etsy →
★★★★★

"Used it with a Glowforge — engraved beautifully with no changes. I will be purchasing more digital downloads from this shop."

— Anna

★★★★★

"I was struggling with lining up my NFC business cards. I was able to not only line them up much better but also do multiple cards at once — making that job so much easier."

— Camp

★★★★★

"Excellent quality and design. Cut clean and neat!"

— LYNN

★★★★★

"Great jigs. Appreciate the time saved not having to build this from scratch!"

— Bruce

★★★★★

"Excellent quality. Item as described. Expectations exceeded."

— Michael

★★★★★

"This template made my slate coasters so much easier. 4×4 coasters from Michaels drop in easily and are easy to remove. Def worth it."

— chris

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